Tuesday, January 12, 2010

The Austin Endurance Ranch

Here’s a plug for my friend Chris’ triathlon training camp later this month and early Feb. I’ve been a part of his tryout meals for the Ranch and if he only had people there to eat – the camp would be amazing. You take a guy who cares about what he eats, add the fact that he’s single (LOTS OF TIME) and he’s insanely over-prepared – you get amazing food and what I’m expecting to be a fantastic (and cheap) experience.

Now that the holidays are behind us and we’re all focusing on training for the 2010 season I figured I should make one final plug for the Austin Endurance Ranch. Three pro triathletes will be running 3 weeks’ worth of all-inclusive training camps in sunny Austin, TX, starting later this month. They provide lodging, meals, ground transportation, sunny weather, some fun non-training activities and the opportunity to learn from current pro triathletes. You’ll also have the opportunity to play with toys like CompuTrainers and Finis SwiMP3 players. Austin has average high temperatures in the mid-60s during late-Jan/early-Feb, and an average of 7 hours of sunshine per day.

Based on the folks who have signed up so far, our weeks are shaping up as follows:

· Jan 18 – Jan 25: skills and education focus. Coach Ben Greenfield from Spokane will be in town with a few of his athletes, so he will be leading a few skills sessions and clinics. Most of the athletes this week are focusing on half-IM races in 2010.

· Jan 25 – Feb 1: big volume week. They have a few east-coast Ironman athletes who want to get in at least two 120-mile rides while they are in town, and we are happy to provide this for them. Of course we’ll have a shorter route option and a sag van on those days.

· Feb 1 – Feb 8: novice week. THey have had a bunch of inquiries from folks who are newer to the sport and/or are focusing on shorter distances this year, so we are encouraging them to attend at the same time. This week will feature shorter workouts and more skills work.

Alaska just cut their airfares to Austin again, so you can fly non-stop for $199.40 roundtrip. They’re also offering 20-30% discounts at the Ranch for any spot that is still available, so email chris@enduranceranch.com if you would like more information. They still have a few open spots during each week listed above, but they are getting snapped up.